I am going to jump ahead because our lives have taken a scary leap. My parents moved from Rivervale, New Jersey to Westernville, New York in 1963 after I graduated from High School. My Dad's family was from that area and we had vacationed there for years. They bought a piece of land on the top of Gifford Hill. I met my husband at the barn dance. Now needless to say I had never seen this kind of dancing before. I was used to doing "The Stroll", and dancing to Johnny Be Good along with Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath. My husband was born in Rome New York on 2/26/44. He lived in
Rome,
Boonville,
Westernville and
Holland Patent. We met in 1964 and went together for 2 years. We married on July 2, 1966 in St. Mary's Church Rome, New York. We were best friends, and in love. However, we were a little naive about the rest of the world. We bought a trailer which we moved to Schutte's trailer park in Victor, New York. Harland went to work in a polyethylene extrusion factory for a year. Then my Dad got him in the Rochester Post Office as a lettercarrier. We were poor but things eventually got better. Harland got a permanent position in the Penfield Post Office, and I went to Monroe Community College in Rochester. In 1969 I earned an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Nursing. I worked at a number of hospitals but finally worked in the ICU at the Unversity of Rochester. Harland always wanted to go to Alaska. The trailer park would have been an awful place to raise a family. In 1969 we visited Alaska for 6 weeks, and in 1972 we moved up to Alaska and settled in the Matanuska Valley. Harland wanted to work on the pipeline but there was a delay. I started at Providence Hospital nights in the ICU while he looked for a job. Then in October my brother Robert James Hook, who came with us, was killed in a farm accident. It was a very bad time. During that time we met Father Edward Stirling an Irish priest and he arranged an interview for Harland to go back in the Post Office. Since then we have had 3 children and lost one baby full term due to toxemia. During this time my Dad died and my Mom died.
Just recently Harland started feeling ill with weight loss, stomach pain, diarrhea, back pain and poor appetite. He has gone from 248 pounds to 211 pounds in about 4 months. He also became anemic. The doctor thought he was bleeding from an ulcer or his GI tract. However, we just found out he has a 5 and 1/2 inch tumor in his kidney. Now this is a bummer. In 5 years we will retire and the children will be on their own. We have been planning a house on our bluff lot overlooking the ocean. He goes in on the 20th to have it removed. I have cried until I have no more tears left. This is so scary. It is too soon. We have worked so hard and suffered through so much over these 40 years that it just doesn't seem fair. All I can do is hope and pray that this works out well and that God gives us some time for each other. This is our story which I meant to tell in pieces. However next time I will return to my childhood. All I can ask is that God watch over us and keep us safe.
Labels: Kidney Cancer
